President Rodrigo Duterte and Health Secretary Francisco Duque unveil the marker for the Malasakit Center at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC). Looking on at left is Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino.
CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza
Malasakit Desk is 24/7 one stop shop for indigents
A one-stop shop to process the medical assistance claims of indigents was launched by President Rodrigo Duterte at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) during his Cebu visit yesterday.
President Duterte led the ribbon cutting for the Malasakit Help Desk office at the hospital, one of several to be launched by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas in the next few months.
Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino said the help desk will house under one roof the satellite offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), PhilHealth, and the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
In a press conference, Dino said they held a dry-run of the Malasakit Help Desk with over 2,100 beneficiaries prior to yesterday’s launching.
“We expect the beneficiaries to complete the processing within one hour,” he said.
The Malasakit Help Desk at the VSMMC will be fully operational later this month and is open 24/7.
Dino said indigents need not secure certification from barangay officials or mayors to avail of the medical assistance.
“We intend to simplify things and cut down the requirements as part of President Duterte’s mandate to streamline processes of government services,” he said.
Dino said they plan to set up more Malasakit Help desks in Regions 6 and 8.
“In Region 7, other branches of the Malasakit Help Desk are located in St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital (Cebu City), Talisay City (Talisay City District Hospital), and Mandaue City (Eversly Child Sanitarium and General Hospital),” he said.